The last F1 Grands Prix have not favored Ferrari, yet Maranello is satisfied. In the preview of the next World Championship round in Austria, the Prancing Horse takes stock of the first part of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Numbers in hand, it is difficult to contradict the concept emphasized by Ferrari management. However, after the recent debacles, celebrating their successes seems at least out of place.
If there is one detail that Ferrari has rarely neglected in the past eighteen months, it is communication. The Maranello team, particularly through Frédéric Vasseur, has almost always been punctual in its statements. Almost never too triumphant, never awkward in difficulties. Certainly, one thing is undeniable: the focus has been on keeping fans, media, and commercial partners at bay.
In this light, the sometimes excessive celebration of even minor successes should not be surprising. Nor should the often ironic ways in which the team principal has usually tried to ease the team’s suffering. What Maranello has always tried to avoid, with great elegance, is diverting attention from moments of crisis. Until a few hours ago, that is.
Let the track do the talking
In the traditional preview of the next World Championship round, Ferrari has chosen this time to take stock of the current season. “All the most relevant figures, after ten races, are better than those of 2023,” reads the statement. It is impossible to argue with the numbers, it is all true: two wins to zero, 270 points to 157, 9 podiums to 2, almost 200 fewer points behind the leader.
Yet, after the double zero points finish in Canada and the struggles in the Spanish Grand Prix, this display of their improvements takes the form of a strange lapse in style. Indeed, since Imola – the venue, among other things, of the first major updates to the SF-24 – Ferrari is only fourth in terms of points scored. Despite the Monaco victory, even the struggling Mercedes surpasses the miraculous Red team.
Frédéric Vasseur has never failed to say it: a few tenths can make a big difference. In Austria, the Maranello car has all the cards to play for the win. But if there is such confidence in the work done, why protect against crisis voices right after two major missteps? If the project is good, the results will come. And then, with the same great elegance, one can celebrate.
Source: f1ingenerale
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